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No turf war over Mongolia, say MAC and MOFA

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) confirmed yesterday that the current Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission will be merged into the MAC in the draft bill for downsizing the Cabinet.

The council also dismissed speculation that the council is in a turf war with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) over who should manage Mongolian affairs.

The director of the MAC's Department of Information and Liaison, Chen Chung-hong (陳崇弘), said yesterday: "There is absolutely no such thing [as a dispute with MOFA]. The commission is expected to be merged with the MAC, but the details have not been yet finalized."

It was the foreign ministry that announced on Sept. 2 that Taiwan and Mongolia were to exchange representative offices since when, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday, the two agencies have been at loggerheads over which agency should be responsible for Mongolia-related affairs once the downsizing plan has been implemented.

Foreign minister Eugene Chien (簡又新) also denied the report yesterday, saying there was a clear division between MOFA and the MAC regarding Mongolia-related affairs.

"After the commission merges with the MAC, the foreign ministry will deal with matters relating to Outer Mongolia (外蒙), while affairs related to Inner Mongolia (內蒙) will be dealt with by the MAC."

Chien said that, traditionally, the term Mongolia includes two parts; one is Outer Mongolia, which refers to the country Mongolia, now an independent country, relations with which should be handled by MOFA, and Inner Mongolia, which refers to China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region which, China said, falls under the preview of the MAC.

"There is no problem regarding our work division," he said.
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